1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical tap for an extension cord and more particularly to an electrical tap with one or more safety closures to dielectrically seal the terminal openings which are not being used.
2. Prior Art
The use of electrical taps or terminals, and more particularly, electrical taps having multiple terminals therein, in conjunction with extension cords is old in the art. Such extension cords commonly are used around the home to deliver current to electrical appliances when the cord attached to the electrical appliance is not of sufficient length to reach a wall socket. One problem associated with the use of extension cords having multiple terminals is that when only one appliance is connected to the terminal the remaining terminal openings are left exposed. These exposed terminal openings present a hazard. Small children, especially those in their crawling years, have an insatiable curiosity and have been known to insert various objects into the exposed terminal openings. When the object is a conductor of electricity, the child can receive a severe electrical shock which may result in a serious, if not fatal injury.
To this end, safety caps have been developed to seal off the unused terminal openings in the electrical taps. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,367. This safety cap has a plurality of sections integrally connected by flexible webs. A central portion is adapted to be mounted on the extension cord and the outer portions have tabs which enter the openings in the electrical tap thereby sealing the openings when not in use. One of the drawbacks with this device is that it can be used only in conjunction with a multiple tap having one pair of openings on each face. That is, if one face of the multiple tap has more than one pair of openings therein, this device could not seal all the openings. If this device were modified to add an additional portion bearing tabs to seal the remaining openings the resulting device would be cumbersome and difficult to use. Further, because this safety cap can be separated readily from the electrical tap, the advantages of the safety cap can be easily defeated by simply removing the safety cap from the extension cord.
It is toward elimination of these and other problems that the present invention is directed.